On 19th March, the Church celebrates with great joy the solemnity of St. Joseph. Spouse of Mary who would become the Mother of the Divine Word, Joseph was chosen to be the ‘guardian of the Word.’ And yet, in the Gospels, we do not have even one word that he spoke. He served in silence, obedient to the Word, revealed to him by the angels in a dream, and by the words and life of Jesus himself.
Even his ‘fiat’, like that of Mary, demanded a total submission to the Spirit and to the Divine will. Joseph believed what God told him; he did what God revealed to him. His vocation was to give to Jesus all that a human father could give: love, protection, a name, a house.
How do we wish to remember this extraordinary saint?
As an exemplary father in these difficult times when the role of a Christian father is so difficult? As a faithful spouse? As a loyal citizen? As a conscientious worker? As a refugee? As the ‘just’ man? So much of greatness, and so much of modesty.
Apparently, not even Jesus spoke of him in the Gospels. About John the Baptist, Jesus said: “Of all born of women, he is the greatest.” Does Joseph come after the Baptist? Probably the greatness of Joseph was such that not even Jesus found the right words to describe him, one of the greatest in God’s eyes.
Maybe Jesus did not speak of Joseph because he was outside of the normal categories of people. When he was exalting the Baptist, someone would have definitely asked Jesus, “where do you put Joseph?” Jesus would have probably replied: “He is a super-saint.”
Celebrating this feast, today we wish to gaze on Joseph, the gentle, quiet, and strong protector of the universal Church, invoking his intercession, so that we can imitate his virtues and welcome Jesus Christ into our lives, as he did.
Father Simon Manjooran
St. Margaret Parish
Otsego, MI
Amy McEntee
Kimberly Kay Cox
Mark Mogilka
Armando Cervantes
Anna Betancourt
Andrea Chavez-Kopp